. >> reporter: mitt romney jumped on that comment. he said all these recent events in the middle east, the 20,000 deaths in syria, the killing of the american ambassador in libya and the election after brotherhood member to be the egyptian president, he said all of those things are not what he would call bumps in the road. listen. >> we're seeing ourselves at the mercy of the events rather than shaping events. we need an administration that is up to shaping events in the middle east and not seeing them as bumps in the road. >> reporter: the white house called romney's attack desperate and offensive right around the same time the president arrived in new york city yesterday. he will be addressing the u.n. general assembly later this morning where he will tell the world that the u.s. will do what we must to prevent iran from obtaining a nuclear weapon. but the president will not be meeting one on one with any world leaders. very unusual. instead he's going to be talking foreign policy this afternoon at a global initiative as will romney